WASHINGTON - The House Appropriations Committee has approved a bill that would keep Securities and Exchange Commission funding for fiscal 2016 consistent with the 2015 enacted level of $1.5 billion, but would be $222 million short of President Obama's budget request.
In a report accompanying the bill, the committee said it supports the SEC's continued pursuit of information technology initiatives, but is prohibiting the SEC from using its reserve fund money to pursue such goals. SEC efforts to improve data transparency by maintaining "consistent and searchable open data standards" for filed information were lauded in the report and the committee recommended other regulatory agencies use current technology to follow the example.
The report also calls for SEC to conduct studies on how Dodd-Frank and other regulations have affected market liquidity and the country's economy. It pushed the commission to file a report with both congressional appropriations committees on how it will shore up its high number of disclosure requirements that are "obsolete and onerous."
"While making good use of limited tax dollars, this legislation makes great strides in reining in wasteful spending, and stopping harmful and unnecessary bureaucratic overreach," said the committee chairman Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky.
The bill, which was approved by the committee on Wednesday, also would severely cut spending by the Internal Revenue Service, appropriating $838 million less than the FY- 2015 enacted level and $2.8 billion less than Obama's request.
The cuts would only add to an already tough situation for the IRS, which is faced with reduced resources. On Wednesday, an advisory panel recommended how the IRS tax-exempt bond office can increase its efficiency and effectiveness with fewer funds.
"The bill reduces funding for nonessential areas, and holds the administration and the Internal Revenue Service more accountable to the taxpayer," Rogers said.
The bill will now move to the House floor for a vote, though the date has not been set, according to a congressional aide.
